University Days
by KylerMcKenna
Summary: Key is a transfer student in America at a college for mainly music majors. As he makes friends and enemies, how will his life change for better or for worse? SHINee, JongKey, 2Min, Onew will probably end up with /someone/. D
1. The First Day

Transferring colleges was hard. Well, it was easy yet hard at the same time. It was easy in the fact that Key would have a better time at this college than the last. It was harder in the fact that he had to move out to America to go there. He hadn't chosen Harvard or Yale or anything, just a small, quiet campus to study at. His grandma had supported his decision when he told her he wanted to transfer, of course, and after she died she'd left all her money and possessions to him, basically.

She'd died that summer, right before he started packing to go to school. He had finally just gotten to Reinhardt University, all the way-fucking-across-the-continent in Georgia, and he was carefully unpacking his things in his dorm room.

Key was a sophomore this year, and he'd heard from several Asian transfer students that schools in America were just so much less stressful compared to the ones over in Japan and Korea, and especially in China.

When searching for a college, Key decided he didn't want to go to some big, famous college, just something small, something more personal and nice. When he'd found Reinhardt it had been a perfect match. Apparently there were plenty of transfers from Korea besides himself, and a lot of Chinese kids went here too, but the biggest thing that caught his attention? It was a school focused on music. The biggest building on campus was the FPAC, the Falany Performing Arts Center, where all the music majors hung out, spent all their time practicing and studying.

That combined with the fact that the student population was only about 1,100, made a huge difference to him. 1,100 students compared to 20,000 was a big change. He was already kinda starting to feel at home here, even if he would have to speak English his whole stay. He'd learned a lot of English back home but it was still a little broken, so he just hoped the students and teachers here would understand him.

He'd already met his teachers even though school hadn't yet started. He wanted to get a feel for the place and his teachers were really, really personal. Instead of classes with 400 students, he had classes with 25 students like a high school. It was comfortable. He only had one real worry. Drama.

He didn't know how he was going to make friends, being a transfer student, but with such a small class size, everyone was bound to know each other and drama would probably start.

He tried not to consider it, knowing he'd be focused on his studies and music anyway, so he briefly wondered who his roommate was going to be.

He stood and walked over to his door. The RA for his hall must have put the names on the doors. He was a sophomore but apparently Resident Assistants were in every dorm hall just for things like this, so his name was written in sharpie on a cut-out cupcake that was taped to the door.

The name next to his read Kyler McKenna. Huh. Oh well. Some American kid obviously. Or maybe he was Irish? That last name got him wondering. He tried not to worry, but he just hoped his roommate wasn't an asshole.

He went back to unpacking, thinking about this "Kyler" and wondering where he was. He was already almost done unpacking and the other side of the room was completely empty.

He started to make his bed up when the door slammed open and in rolled..some really short kid. With a ton of stuff. Oh god this must be Kyler. Kyler dragged in all his stuff one at a time, ignoring Key for a moment since he had carts to unpack and beds and things to make.

Kyler's parents were with him, seemingly the helpful type. His dad was a pretty big guy, he had a little weight on him but he was pretty tall and he looked happy, walking around and setting up things for Kyler, like his mini-fridge.

It was Kyler's mom that introduced herself. "Hi! You must be Kyler's roommate! I'm Sue Yilling, and this is my husband, Fred Yilling. We're Kyler's parents." Different last name? He wondered why, but he shook it off and shook her hand.

"Hello! Ahh..I'm Kim Ki—or.. Well you do first names first here I guess. I'm Kibum Kim, but you can call me Key. Sorry about my English..I transfer here from Korea."

This Sue was immediately interested. "Oh! Korea? I used to live there! I taught over there for awhile. What part are you from? Seoul?" He shook his head. Everyone foreign to Korea always thought everyone from Korea was from Seoul. Oh well.

"No, Daegu."

She smiled again, "Oh Daegu! Okay! I've been there. What are you studying here at Reinhardt? What's your major?"

This conversation continued for awhile. She was really nice. Kyler and his dad finished unpacking all of his stuff, making his bed, and finally Fred introduced himself. "Hi there! I'm Fred, Kyler's dad. Nice to meet you Key."

Key nodded at him and said hello shyly. Kyler's dad was a pretty big dude. It was kinda intimidating, but he was really friendly so that helped.

Eventually, Kyler's parents left and Kyler hugged them and kissed them goodbye. "Bye Mama! Bye Daddy!" He waved and watched them walk back to their car outside.

Key liked those two, they seemed like good parents. But when they were gone, Kyler shut the door and sighed, leaning against the door frame.

"Sorry I didn't introduce myself. I guess my mom was busy talking your ear off."

Key just laughed. "No, no, it okay, really."

Kyler smiled. "So..transfer eh? Here to study music like the rest of 'em?"

Key raised an eyebrow. "Yeah..what's that supposed to mean?"

Kyler laughed. "All of my friends are music majors, I swear. They run rampant through the campus. If you're not a music major everyone looks at you funny. Come on, let's go walk around. No one spends their time in their rooms. You'll have to get to know the campus."

Key smiled again and nodded and let out a simple, "Yeah, okay," and followed Kyler out of their dorm. They were on the second floor, which was level to the parking lot, so they didn't have to bother with stairs.

When they walked outside, Kyler stopped. "Oh call me Ky, by the way. Everyone else does because it's easier. Okay so, our dorm is Roberts." He turned around to face the building. "So if anyone asks what dorm you're in you can just say Roberts."

He then pointed to his right. "Right next to us is Smith Johnson, for the sophomore and up girls. Most of us around here just call it SmoJo, so if anyone says something about SmoJo you'll know what they're talking about."

He pointed down even further. "THAT building all the way down there is Paul Jones, another guy's dorm. One of my buds, Wesley, stayed there last year. I think he's there again this year. Another of my friends was there too but he transferred to another school so he's not here anymore."

Key nodded and then turned back around to the left side of the parking lot. There was a set of stairs. Kyler smiled and grabbed his hand, rushing down them. "Let's go, we'll walk around and I'll show you everything cool and who to be cautious of and stuff."

_Who to be cautious of and stuff…_ Oh god that worried Key. They walked down a long, downhill path and there was a another dorm lined up with the rest of them, just separated by a parking lot and downhill. "This is Gordy, where all the freshman girls stay. I know it's huge. There's a loooot of freshman girls every year. I dunno which way you swing but in the case you like girls I guess at least there's a lot of them haha."

He pointed down further. "We won't go all the way down there, but there's another guy's dorm right next to Gordy. That dorm is called Cobb. I had some friends there last year, Kyle and Jamarcus and some others, but I think most of them moved to Roberts with us, or they transferred out. Waaay down there, those buildings all surrounding that huge area? Those are the apartments. I'm sure you were told for extra money that you could get an apartment instead. They're not that much better but my friend Nate lives in the apartments and he likes them because you get your own bedroom."

Finally they got to the entrance of Gordy and they started walking away from it, towards another building. Key looked at the name and cocked his head to the side. "But..that's Gordy too?" He asked, pointing to the large building in front of him.

Kyler nodded. "Yeah but mostly it's the cafeteria and The Varsity, a restaurant we have on campus. And then connected to it is the Rec Room, where everyone hangs out. My friends and I love having movie nights and playing pool and air hockey there."

Eventually they walked through the doors and down a small hallway where they turned right, and immediately on the left were double doors to the rec room. Lots of kids were in there currently, and Kyler smiled when he saw some of his friends.

He opened the door for Key, who walked through shyly and looked around.

Key watched as Kyler squealed, "Jamarcuuuus!" And Jamarcus squealed Kyler's name right back, and they ran at each other and hugged as if they thought they'd never see each other again.

"Raaaaaaawr I missed yooooou!" Jamarcus swung Kyler around and Kyler laughed.

"I missed you too, silly." He waved for Key to come over and Jamarcus set him down. Kyler caught the attention of a few others. "Hey Matt, Nate. Hiiii Jessica!"

Whoever Jessica was, she smiled when she saw him and got up and hugged him. "Heeeey guuuurl whatchu been up to?!"

Kyler laughed. "Guuuurl I haven't seen you since yo' parteeeeeh. Mmm it's been too long."

"I knoooow riiiight? Daaamn gurl you betta getchyo self caught up now."

"Gurl don'tchu be tellin' me ta get caught up. Mmmm I got myself a new roommate he and I were chillin' so jus' relax an' introduce yoself. You betta be nice."

Jessica smacked her lips. "Excuse me, I'm always nice."

Kyler scoffed. "No you a bitch."

"Excuse me?"

"Gurl you heard me, you a bitch."

Jamarcus laughed loudly at this. "He's right you're mean!"

Jessica laughed and pushed him playfully. "I am not!"

Key didn't understand their humor, but they were having fun so he smiled. Soon enough though, everyone was introducing themselves. Jessica, this cute li'l black girl who obviously adored Asian men because she gasped when she saw him and said something along the lines of, "Oh my goooood that man is fiiiiine."

Kyler laughed and slapped at her a bit. "Don't scare him off! He's a transfer from Korea so be nice!"

Then Jamarcus of course. He was also black and he was a lot taller than Jessica and especially Kyler, though he was around Key's height. He was really nice and funny, but a little too loud for Key to handle.

Then there was Wesley, who was sitting on one of the couches around the t.v. He was a little quiet at first, and he seemed like one of those frat boy douches just by his looks, but when he talked it was obvious how gay he was, not that he seemed to mind or notice.

There was Matt, who said hi but that was it. He was just really quiet. And then there was Nate, who seemed nice enough but kind of awkward. He seemed to like attention, too, and was a little bit of a know-it-all. After saying hi to Key, he turned back to Matt and talked his ear off about Sonic, a game he was apparently totally obsessed with.

Nakia was a pretty cool girl. She described herself as being straight from the ghetto, not that Key had any idea what that meant in English.

Nadiyah was really out-going and crazy fun, and she wasn't afraid of yelling things like, "suck my dick" to the rest of the world. Everyone loved her it seemed.

Apparently, according to Ky, their group of friends consisted of a lot more people, but these were the only ones present for now. Most of them were sophomores though Nate and Matt were juniors.

They were all having fun chatting and Key was enjoying himself, but he really wanted to go to the FPAC and see what was there.

As everyone was hanging around, he tugged on Kyler's sleeve. "Uh..I'm gonna..walk to that really big building across campus..the FPAC? I want to see what it's like..you know..?"

Ky smiled and stood up. "I'll walk over there with you! The FPAC is great, you'll love it there."

Jamarcus immediately jumped up at that. "You're going to the FPAC? I wanna go!" Jessica and Wesley jumped up too.

Kyler smiled and nodded. "We'll all go. Wes, Jamarcus, just don't kill each other on the way over there."

Wesley glared at Jamarcus and Jamarcus right back at Wesley, but they nodded and everyone headed off for the FPAC.

Key wondered what that was about.

The walk was longer than he thought it would be, considering there were lots of up and down hills from the Rec Room. Down the hill, past the glass house, back up and past the library, up a lot more then down past Lawson (one of the academic buildings), up past the front of the church, and across an absolutely endless parking lot toward the FPAC.

But eventually they made it there, though it seemed a couple of them were a little out of breath. Probably since they hadn't walked that far all summer. Ha. Key walked everywhere so he had no problem with it personally.

They walked in a side door of the building, which confused Key a little but it seemed this was totally normal for the rest of them. Inside the building were a ton of small practice rooms, just big enough to fit a piano in each room and a couple of people. "Why so many piano rooms?" He asked as they walked around.

Jessica looked back at him. "Every music major here is required to take piano lessons."

That was new. Required? He wondered why, especially if they were already busy with other instruments or something.

They walked through a door somewhere along the line that must have led to the lobby of the building, because it was a huge room with marbled tile flooring and it was gorgeous. There was a really old piano in the room and a set of double doors leading to a theater for performances. There were stairs to an upstairs balcony, as well. Key was amazed.

As he looked around, he heard laughter above them and looked up to see a group of students walking toward and down the stairs. There were at least seven of them in the group, if not more. The two at the front were most noticeable.

But as they walked down the stairs, Key saw Wesley glaring at the group, and Jamarcus and Jessica sighed. Kyler groaned a little but fear seemed to show on his face.

Key was worried. Who were they..?


	2. Gay Hatin' Homos

Key continued to watch the group of people walking down the stairs. He tilted his head and looked back at Kyler again. "Who..are they..?" He asked quietly.

Before Kyler got a chance to answer, the two boys that were at the front snickered and walked over. "Well look who's here, little fag with his fag friends. How's it goin' Kyyyyy?" The taller of the two chuckled and lifted Kyler's chin, and Kyler whimpered a little.

The other one smirked. "Still as much of a pussy as ever, eh, Kyler? Can't grow some balls and learn to fuck a girl every now and then?"

Kyler growled a little and snapped at the finger under his chin, latching onto it and biting. The taller one cried out and tried to shake him off, drawing blood in the process. "OW FUCK."

He growled and grabbed Kyler by the collar of his shirt. "You stupid little ungrateful fuck. You'll pay for that."

Jamarcus had had enough. "Hey. Leave him alone, Minho. Or this is gonna get ugly."

Minho just laughed and so did the rest of the group. "Let's see. Five of you..ten of us. Two on one? I think we can win. What do you think, Jonghyun?"

Jonghyun was still smirking, and he stepped towards Key a little. "Mm..I don't really wanna fight today. I was thinkin'..we got ourselves a new one here. Why don't we have a little fun with him? He's obviously a fag too. I mean look at his hair and that makeup he has on."

Minho didn't drop Kyler but he smirked at Key. "So Ky is this your new little boyfriend or something? Guess it's not your lucky day, kid."

Kyler wasn't gonna stand for this and he used his leverage to his advantage. When someone lifted you off the ground and you were short, you could just as easily kick them in the balls. And that's just what Kyler did. He swung back and then swung his foot forward into Minho's crotch, making Minho drop him with a cry of pain as he curled in on himself.

"First of all he's not my boyfriend. He's my roommate. I'm still single and waiting, thanks. Second of all he has a name. It's Key. And third of all I thought I taught you by now that I may be a faggot but I'm a pretty damn proud one, and messing with me's not gonna get you very for in life."

Minho growled, still on the ground and his finger still bleeding a little. "You think your height makes all the difference, Minho. It doesn't. Short people like me can fuck you up. Just because I'm a foot shorter than you that doesn't mean you can underestimate me. Then again, you act weaker when I'm in a group of friends, so maybe you're just scared that the five of us could overpower you."

He scoffed and started to walk off, taking Key's hand. Jamarcus and Jessica followed, though Wesley was still glued to where he was standing. Kyler looked back over his shoulder. "And what's with you, Jonghyun? Your bark's a lot worse than your bite today. That's not normal."

Jonghyun growled. "You wait until you're not in your group of friends, McKenna. You just wait and I'll fuck you up for this." He then kneeled to Minho and rubbed his shoulder a little, taking and looking at his finger. As Kyler continued walking off with the others, Key could faintly here Jonghyun saying, "It's okay..we'll just wash it and bandage it up when we get back to your apartment, Minho.."

Key didn't like those guys, and noticed that he and his new friends were soon outside the building again. "I'm sorry, Key.." Key turned to Kyler, and Ky sighed. "The four of us usually love hanging out at the FPAC but we're gonna have to do it on a day when they're not there..those are the people I was gonna tell you to avoid."

Key sighed and shook his head. "No it okay..really..but..they were Korean like me..but so angry..why were they like that?"

Wesley finally spoke up. "They just bitches. They hate us gay people and take it out on us all the time. They've only ever beat up Ky but oooh they goin' ta hell. God does **not** approve of their actions and they needa fix themselves. Seriously. Ooh they make me so mad."

Jessica laughed at Wesley's attempt at ebonics. "Wesley you so white." He laughed with her for awhile, and Jamarcus turned to Kyler and Key.

He smiled at Kyler and pet his hair a little. "We promised we wouldn't let them beat up Ky anymore, but they always find ways around us and do it anyway. They've victimized others here too, but Ky seems to be a main target. Just don't let that happen to yourself, Key..If you see them in the distance, turn the other way."

Key nodded and frowned a little. "Alright..I really don't like those guys..at all."

Kyler laughed bitterly. "Ha! Neither do the rest of us. They just love to scare and intimidate and beat on other people. I think they do it because their lives are probably hell at home so they take out their insecurities on the rest of us."

Jessica raised an eyebrow at this. "Mmm..I dunno Ky they seem to focus only on gay people."

Wesley nodded. "Das true.."

Jamarcus shrugged. "Well then maybe they're all closet gays. Like..Gay-Hatin'-Homos!" At this everyone burst out laughing, everyone but Kyler at least.

When it quieted down, Key noticed he and Ky were still holding hands. He squeezed it lightly and looked at him. "Hey..something wrong..?"

Kyler shook his head and went from looking at the ground to looking at the sky. "Mm..no. Just thinking. I'm not even gay but they're too stupid to know what pansexual is so it doesn't matter. I guess me leaning towards guys is enough for them to make me a constant target, but I've had plenty of girlfriends."

Jamarcus laughed. "With all due respect, dude, I didn't know what pansexual was until you told me, either."

Kyler let out a small, barking laugh at that. Wesley deadpanned. "What /is/ pansexual?"

Key chuckled. "Wes I was about to ask the same thing."

Kyler looked at them with an "are you serious" expression, and made a small noise. "Eeeeh. Pansexual…you know what bisexual is I'm sure? Where you like both boys and girls?" They both nodded. Jessica seemed to be listening too. By this point they hadn't even noticed they were already back at the glasshouse. "Pansexual is like that, but it includes all the genders, not just male and female. So transgendered, genderqueer, genderfluid, agender, bi-gender, third gender, questioning, hermaphrodites, it just includes everyone. Basically I just don't discriminate or care based on gender, but I doooo lean towards guys so I act kinda gay."

Everyone made noises like, "Ooooooh okay," and "aaaah I see," and Jamarcus looked pretty proud for already knowing what pansexual was.

At this point everyone decided to part ways, and Kyler and Key headed back to their room.


	3. Small Talk

When Ky and Key got back to their room, they sat together on Key's bed and chatted. If they were going to be roommates, they had to get to know each other more. So Kyler got them some snacks and drinks and they sat together on Key's bed, munching away and chatting about life, of course being sure to not get any crumbs on the bed sheets, for Key's sanity's sake.

They talked for awhile before Key finally got a little nervous. He fiddled with his soda can and tapped at it a little. Kyler tilted his head. "You know if something's bothering you, you can tell me Key. We're stuck together the whole year. We might as well trust each other and be friends and be able to talk."

Key nodded, but stayed quiet for a minute, still staring at the soda can. Kyler leaned back against the wall and looked out at his side of the room. It wasn't going to stay that neat for long, that was for sure.

Finally, when Key spoke up, he startled Kyler a little, but Ky kept down the jump that was urged to release itself.

"It's just.." Key started, still staring at the can. "I..just was wondering about your name..your parents..had different last names than you. I..don't understand..I guess I was just wondering..why but if it's too personal you don't have to tell me.."

Kyler chuckled and leaned forward, draping an arm around Key's shoulder. "You don't have to be afraid to ask about it, love. I'm adopted, first off, but even then you'd think I'd have their last name. Technically I do, by a legal standpoint. I'm transgender, so my name..isn't really Kyler McKenna, but that's what everyone here knows me as. The school even agreed to put it on all my papers. My parents hate calling me that and aren't supportive of me at all, but they act like it when other people are around.."

Key blinked and his eyes widened. "Y..You're trans? You're not really a dude?"

Kyler laughed. "Biologically, no, but yes I am a male, just trapped in a female body."

Key tilted his head. "Yet they put you in male dorms?"

"Well..yeah I mean I am a dude. It's not based on my biological gender that I was born as..it's..I mean it's kinda hard to explain. I am a guy though.."

Key smiled sadly at him. "No I mean..I guess..I get what it is and stuff I just figured since you're biologically female that they'd still put you in girl dorms..you know..?"

Kyler chuckled a little. "Yeah well..but did you honestly think I was a guy or not?"

Key widened his eyes and blinked. "Yeah I did I had no idea you were trans. Where'd your boobs go?"

Kyler had to laugh at that and he threw back his head a little, and then he moved to remove his shirt. "No being shy, you'll see it eventually." Once it was off, Key stared in aww at what looked like..well kinda like a tight-fitting tank top.

"What is it..?" He asked.

"It's a chest binder, silly. It binds 'em down so it looks like I don't have 'em."

Key blinked a little more. "Ooooooh. I thought maybe you did that with Ace bandages or something..or at least that's what I've heard."

Kyler shook his head, putting his shirt back on. "Nooooope. Not at all. Ace bandages are really really bad for you and can cause a lot of damage."

Key was very, very interested in all of this. He was fascinated by the idea that his roommate was actually transgender, and he smiled. "Well..I guess..I feel a little more welcome though..knowing you're trans and pansexual and all.."

Kyler raised an eyebrow. "Why are you more comfortable? Is it because omg gay people are so terrible in South Korea? Believe me just because you're gay it doesn't mean anything Key. I could tell you were gay before I was half-way through the door with my shit to unpack. Seriously, it's the same here as in Korea. Same laws and everything. And we have the same kind of people who accept it, and the same kind of people who don't. The douchebags you met at the FPAC are exactly like the ones back home for you. They're no different, it's just that they speak English, which doesn't even mean anything considering that group is Korean like you."

Key was seriously dumbstruck by this guy. "Y..You knew I was gay..?" Was about all he managed to cough out of him along with sputtering some of his coke. He covered his mouth with his hand and Kyler jumped off the high-sitting bed, retrieving a napkin for him, which he nodded in thanks for.

"Yeah, don't be so surprised dude. All of my friends knew it too just by looking at you. Our gaydars go on for miles. I could probably tell you every sexual orientation at this school just by looking at everyone. That's why I'm not afraid of Minho and Jonghyun even though they beat me up. They're gay too, they just won't admit it because they're afraid and hate being gay, so they take it out on other gay people."

Key almost spat out more of his coke. "They're gay too?!"

Kyler laughed and fell back on Key's bed. "You've gotta be kidding me! Those guys couldn't be gay!"

After his laughter subsided, Kyler opened his eyes. He didn't know when he'd closed them but he looked up at the ceiling. "Everyone in that group of theirs is gay, Key. It's obvious. It's just that I'm a bigger person so I don't use it against them like they do me. One day if they ever grow up, I'll probably tell them that I know that they're gay and they don't have to be afraid of it..but for now, I know they'll keep beating me up..and I guess I'm not afraid of it anymore..even though it hurts. For the record, Jonghyun might have classes with you. He's a sophomore like us and a music major, too. Vocals and guitar, I think.."

"Oh. Great. I have to have classes with the asshole who said he wanted to 'play with me' today." Key rolled his eyes at the prospect. "After all, I'm here for vocals too. That and dancing."

Kyler propped up on his elbows and waved a hand at Key. "Naaw no worries. Jonghyun's pretty bi-polar but his bark's worse than his bite if he's not backed up by Minho and his posse. He'll usually leave you alone if he's in class with you, or even out of class if the rest of them aren't around. You have to really get on his bad side to make him get physical and violent, and even then he only does it to show off around Minho and the rest of them."

Key furrowed his eyebrows. "W..Why do you think he does that?"

At that Kyler sat back up, looking straight at Key. "Honestly? I think he's ashamed of being gay and tries to take it out on others like Minho does, but that he just doesn't have it in him. I think he's probably a really sweet guy on the inside and that he doesn't have the heart to hurt others, but he's gotta keep up his reputation around Minho and their gang or he'll be a victim, too, and he'd rather be the bully than the bullied."

Huh. Interesting. Key just figured that all meant that Jonghyun had some serious issues and he needed to work them out, but he'd probably see for himself if they had classes together.

It was at this point that Kyler jumped up off the bed and moved to go brush his teeth. He hadn't realized how much time had passed already, and classes started tomorrow. And with that, Key followed and got ready for bed as well, and when everything was said and done and they were packed up for classes the next morning, they shut off the lights and went to sleep.


	4. A Little Off Tune

Key's alarm clock went off all too loudly at seven o'clock the next morning. The blaring, blinking red 7:00 AM shown on his alarm clock made him groan as he hit the off button, and before he could just settle right back in and go to sleep, he roooolled out of bed and..forgot how high up these beds were propped and promptly landed on his back, his head hitting the floor. Well that hurt.

As he was lying there on the floor, holding his head, Kyler rolled over and furrowed his eyebrows at him. "What're ya doin' on th' floor, Key..?"

Key glared at him silently and held his head a little more. "I forgot the fuckin' bed was this high up and fell."

Kyler's eyes widened and he slowly made his way down from his bed, dragging his comforter with him as his body pillow landed on the floor in a heap. He crawled on over to Key, where he curled up next to him and covered them both with the comforter as he took a look at the back of Key's head. "Well..nothing's bleeding or cracked..but you'll probably have a pretty bad headache..hold on just stay there.." Ky moved to cover Key completely with the fluffy comforter and then crawwwled on out from under it slowly, crawling over to his various boxes of things under his jacked up bed.

He sat staring at the boxes for a moment before figuring out which one he needed, and moved to grab it, taking out a bottle of Advil. After he put the box back he reached for a small baggy and crawled away to the mini-fridge in the corner of the room. He opened it and grabbed a water bottle, quickly filling the plastic baggy with ice, and then crawled back to Key and under the comforter with him. "Hey baby you still with me? Come on..heeere we go that's right..just..hold that there." Ky had moved to pry Key's hands away from the back of his head, putting the bag of ice there, which Key latched to and pressed to his skull easily as he groaned again. It was cold and it hurt but it would help.

Kyler suddenly felt like a mother. He opened the water bottle and bottle of Advil, popping three of them from the bottle. "Open." He said the word simply and quickly, and Key opened his mouth and popped one of the Advil in, then giving him some water. He repeated it for the second and third pills, and then he closed the water bottle and the bottle of Advil, and moved them out of the way for a moment. "Cooome on, Mr. Music Major. Let's get you up. Gotta get to your first class on time, now don't we?" Taking the comforter in each hand, he wrapped his arms around Key, enveloping him in the blanket as he helped him into a standing position, which proved a rather difficult task from being in a fetal position on the floor.

Eventually, though, they were standing, and Kyler helped Key shuffle off toward the bathroom with his shampoo, conditioner, soap, towel, and other necessities. As Key stood there holding the ice to the back of his head, wrapped up in his blankey, Kyler was busying himself with setting up the shower for Key so he wouldn't have to deal with it himself this morning. Afterward, he smiled at Key. "Take a nice, hot shower and when you get out I'll put fresh ice in that baggy for you so you can take it with you to class. You'll be feeling better in no time, I promise."

Key whimpered and groaned a little in response, nodding, and he let the comforter drop into Ky's hands as he handed him the baggy of ice. As Kyler was leaving, he pulled close the shower curtain for Key, and then walked out of the bathroom and set up his bed again. He moved to put more ice in the plastic bag and set it in the refrigerator so it wouldn't melt, and then he curled back up in bed.

Key's shower was quick but Kyler had been right. It did help him feel a little better, though his head was still pounding. After his shower, he dried off and wrapped his towel around his waist and moved to the mirror. He still looked like hell, so he moved back to his room and dressed quickly in something that would make a statement, and moved back to the bathroom with a hair dryer, brush, comb, and makeup. After drying and styling his hair, which was currently black with pink highlights, he put on his makeup, which ended in him having some cool eyeliner swirls and sparkles around his eyes. He looked cute, at least.

When he got back to their room, he finally saw Kyler back in bed. "Don't you have class?" he asked as he snorted at him. Kyler looked like he was hibernating.

Ky just shook his head and laughed at him. "Pfft no. Only you music majors were stupid enough to fall for the eight o'clock in the morning classes. Unlike you, my classes don't start until 11:00 in the morning. Here hold on."

As Ky had been talking, Key had gotten ready to leave and was almost out the door, but Kyler quickly stopped him and rolled out of bed again to grab the new bag of ice from the refrigerator. "I don't care if you tell me your head feels better, if you don't use this your headache's gonna come back. My dad's a doctor. I'm anal about these things."

Key chuckled a little and grabbed it, pressing it to the back of his head. "Alright, alright, _umma_, I'll use it. Geez."

Kyler laughed. "I do know some Korean you know. I'm not your mother Key, just trying to help a friend."

Key smiled and waved at him as he walked out the door. "I know, I know, but you're still an umma."

Kyler yelled after him. "DID YOU GET YOUR KEY?"

Key didn't look back, holding up his room key for Kyler to see, and just kept walking. Kyler rolled his eyes and shut the door to their room, going to crawl back into bed. He sighed. "What am I gonna do with that boy..?"

Key found that even at 7:45 in the morning, the weather was too fucking hot to be out here walking all the way across campus to class. But he did it. At least he didn't have an instrument to carry, like he noticed some of the kids doing. The back of his head was cool, at least, not that he figured the ice would last for long after this walk.

Eventually he arrived in his first class, and he sat in one of the available chairs with a small desk, figuring it was smarter than sitting on the bleachers on the first day of chorus. He waited and watched as the classroom filled, holding the ice to his still slightly throbbing head as he hummed a little tune to himself.

After the class was filled and everyone was sitting, the teacher started to introduce himself, but he was interrupted by a late student running into the class. "Jonghyun, you're late again. Come now it's the first day of class. I thought you promised me last year that you'd stop being late."

Jonghyun blushed and bowed at the professor, apologizing as he went to take his seat. "Sorry, sir..I'll try not to be late anymore, I promise.." The professor gave him a stern look. He didn't care for the bowing but he'd learned that Jonghyun did it because it was custom for him back home in Korea, so he'd gotten used to it, at least.

Key watched Jonghyun the whole time. He seemed..different today than he did yesterday. A lot shyer, maybe? He had figured Jonghyun would be in his class, but today he looked a little worse for the wear, like he was tired and he'd seen a whole war. He wondered what happened to cause that, but shook it off and tried to pay attention to class.

About halfway through the first class though, Key could feel eyes boring into his plastic bag of ice, and he blinked and looked over to see Jonghyun looking at him. The other quickly glanced away with a sad, yet guilty look on his face, and Key furrowed his eyebrows. This guy really was ashamed of being gay, wasn't he..? Perhaps Key would have to find a way to fix that.

After class was out, Key packed up his bag and watched as others filed out of the room, and he started making his way out, noticing that Jonghyun had stayed behind to talk to the teacher. He watched the other quietly, pretending not to eavesdrop as he looked over some sheets of music, acting as if he were studying.

"I'm sorry I'm always late..I know..I just..there were some problems at home and my mom called through this morning and..yeah..you know how it is at home, teach..I just wish she could move over here.. No. What are the police gonna do? They don't do shit to help anyone ever so what makes you think it'll be different? I'm tellin' ya, teach..I've already tried. I can't do anything..I have a job and I'm trying to save up money so maybe one day..I know.."

The teacher was being too quiet for Key to hear but he wondered what was going on in Jonghyun's family life, and out of the corner of his eye he saw the teacher embrace him. Key put away the last of his things and walked out the door quietly, acting as if he hadn't heard a thing. He walked out the side entrance to the building that he'd come in through last night when he was wandering with his new friends.

As he walked Jonghyun had caught up and brushed past his shoulder, sniffling as he put his sleeve up to his eyes. Key stopped and tilted his head. Jonghyun hadn't noticed him at all. Well that was what he thought, until Jonghyun stopped, turned around, and glared at Key. Key's eyes widened and he backed up, Jonghyun coming forward and raising him by the collar, slamming him against the wall. "Look, kid, Key, whatever, I don't know what you heard back there but as far as I'm concerned, you didn't hear a damn thing, got it? No one needs to know about any of this. As far as you know, I've never cried a day in my life, am I making myself clear enough? Or do you need the Korean version of that?"

Key's eyes were still wide and he nodded. "I..I think I got it..thanks.."

Jonghyun dropped him, still glaring. "Good.." Now that Key looked at it, Jonghyun was a bit shorter than him, yet he was obviously strong enough to lift Key up against the wall so he must work out or something.

Jonghyun quickly turned to walk away again, and Key watched as he walked toward the church at the other side of the parking lot, where he disappeared in the distance, since that was a fucking big parking lot. He honestly felt sorry for Jonghyun. He hoped the guy had someone to talk to.

As he shrugged it off, he went in the same direction Jonghyun had disappeared to, heading back to his room. The ice had melted by now so he dropped the baggy in a garbage can nearby and made it back to his room in about ten minutes. When he got there, Ky was up and dressed and typing away on his laptop.

"I thought your classes didn't start until eleven," Key stated as he entered the room, dropping his backpack. He then looked at the time. 9:30.

Kyler looked up and smiled. "They don't. I couldn't get back to sleep after you left so I just got up and showered and stuff. How was your first class?" He pushed the laptop on top of his pillow and closed it, motioning for Key to jump up and sit with him.

Key did so and moved back against the wall. "Eh. I would say uneventful but I'd be lying, but I guess Jonghyun told me not to say anything or I'd be dead, so I can't."

Kyler's eyes widened a little. "Jonghyun talked to you? And didn't demolish you on sight?"

Key laughed. "Actually he was crying. Everyone was already in class when he showed up, and he apologized to our teacher and said he'd try not to be late again. The teacher said something about how he promised not to be late last year so it's obvious it's an ongoing problem. Anyway after class I stayed behind and eavesdropped while I was packing up. It seems like he's got some family issues going on back home and he's got a job here and he's trying to help his mom with something, but I couldn't really tell what. It was kinda worrying though. I mean I feel sorry for him. I wonder what he's going through."

Kyler lifted an eyebrow. "O..kay..at what point in this did he talk to you though? You said he talked to you."

Key nodded. "After I left and was already outside walking back here, Jonghyun brushed past me and he was crying. I thought he didn't notice me but he did, and he turned around and slammed me against the wall. He told me that as far as he was concerned I didn't hear a thing, and that if anyone ever asked me, I've never once seen him cry..so.."

Kyler's eyes had gone wide again at this. "Jonghyun.. crying? Man Jonghyun's known as one of the toughest guys in school I wonder what the crying was about. Whatever the hell's goin' on at home must be really bad if he's crying. I mean..I have issues at home too but as bad as they are I rarely **cry** about them, you know?"

Key nodded. "Whatever it is, I just hope he has someone to talk to. A therapist or something. If I were him I sure as hell wouldn't talk to that Minho guy about my problems."

Kyler laughed bitterly at this. "I'm pretty sure if Minho knew Jonghyun had problems, he'd end up another target on Minho's dart board. I wouldn't go to him either."

Key sighed. "Yeah.." It was all he could think of. He didn't know what else to say. The room filled with an awkward silence, and they didn't say anything for a good few minutes until Key spoke up again. "Maybe he's just in the wrong group, you know..? Maybe he'd be happier in a group of friends like yours. I just think he's in with the wrong crowd..he seems different to me..even if he did scare the hell out of me today."

Kyler looked up from where he was now lying back on his bed, and he shook his head, sighing a little. "I can't honestly tell you. All I know is that when he **is** with Minho and them, he's really mean and vicious, and he can throw some god-awful punches to the stomach. He's tough and he's not someone to mess with, but I wonder if he's actually like that or not..I mean he seems bi-polar to me."

Key tilted his head. "Bi-polar how?"

Kyler sat up, getting uncomfortable now the way he was lying. "I mean..he seems really conflicted. When he's beating the absolute living shit out of other people, he laughs and it's obvious he really enjoys it. Beating the shit out of me has brought him a helluva lot of pleasure, I know. But then like you said, today he seemed totally different, like he didn't like hurting people at all. I wonder if he's bi-polar in that sometimes he flips his shit but when he's not being insane, he's a really..great guy or something? I dunno. It seems weird that he'd be on both sides of the spectrum."

Key had to think about that for a minute, but he looked at Kyler again. "Well..maybe..? I really don't know. It does seem weird, but maybe he could use that strength of his to beat up bad guys instead of people like us? He could still get enjoyment out of beating the living shit out of everyone without having to worry about who it is he's hurting. He just needs a different target. And then when he's not taking his anger out on some robber or murderer or something, he could just..have a normal life with normal friends or something."

Kyler sighed. "Not like this talk we're having is gonna help him any. Unless we magically recorded all of that and showed it to him, and then I think he'd just get defensive and beat me up again, and maybe he'd beat you up too. I dunno. There's nothing we can do about it, so we have to worry about ourselves and not him." He then jumped off his bed and grabbed his backpack, and Key looked at the time as Kyler started heading out the door.

"Uhh..it's only like..10:15 dude, where are you going?"

"Huh..?" Kyler turned and looked at the clock. "Oh I'm gonna go eat breakfast since I haven't eaten. Come with me? Maybe we'll see some of our friends, too. Jessica and Jamarcus have to get up early for classes too. Wesley doesn't but he's usually at breakfast at some point."

Key didn't answer immediately, so his stomach did it for him, and he blushed a little and jumped off the bed, grabbing his room Key and lanyard and walking out the door with Kyler. "I guess I am hungry.." he said quietly, though it was apparent that food wasn't exactly the only thing currently on his mind. He just couldn't stop thinking about Jonghyun.


End file.
